For One Year and Forever
by FrostyFingers
Summary: It's almost time for their anniversary and Lizzie has to find a suitable gift for Red - [Lizzington]


**AN:** Another itty bitty one-shot that somehow came to me. Special thanks to my beta and friend, redisthenewblackington, who's also celebrating her birthday today. Happy Birthday, hun!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own TBL

 **For One Year and Forever**

They had been together for almost a year now - just one week short of a year, actually, and Liz was excited about their upcoming anniversary. After everything they'd gone through, they've emerged together, stronger than ever, and she was so thankful to have had him by her side for that hard time. She fell in love with him a week into their flight, or rather, she knew that her feelings for him were stronger than ever, at that time. She'd been drawn to him from the very beginning.

She had kissed him in week three. A quick, shy kiss to his oh-so-soft lips that had absolutely taken him by surprise. He couldn't react at all, his eyes big and round, making him look like a schoolboy. Liz blushed furiously and had quickly run into her room, shutting the door behind her and sliding down until she was sitting on the floor. She had been so embarrassed that she didn't leave her room that day, not even to eat, and it worried him a lot. When she didn't even emerge for dinner, Red gently rapped on the door before entering. He found her on her bed, fast asleep, and it made him smile at her.

He then climbed onto the bed and carefully spooned her, his arm around her waist and his nose buried in her hair. Apparently, he had fallen asleep like that, because he woke to her stirring in his embrace.

"Is this okay?" He asked the moment she had woken. He could feel her heart hammering against her ribcage. At her nod, he pulled her closer and kissed her neck, feeling her sigh and relax.

Stolen kisses led to passionate ones, but apart from cuddling and sleeping in one bed together, there hadn't been anything else... Not until she had taken it upon herself, though. And after that, the rest is history, as they say.

The year had flown by quickly with all the running and hiding and eventually fighting the cabal and bringing them down, clearing her name in the process, and even his. She couldn't stop kissing him when Cooper had told them the news. They tumbled down from the couch and he grunted in pain when they had hit the wooden floor, but he hadn't let go.

Her problem now was finding something for the man that had everything, that could buy everything he desired. She thought it would take her ages to find something, anything, but surprisingly she found something that he would hopefully like as well within the next three days.

She went to Matt's the very next day. They'd met at a coffee shop once, and he talked her up because she kept staring at his tattoos. She apologized and told him that she was interested in getting one herself. It turned out that Matt's a tattoo artist.

Now, here she was, in a tattoo shop, on her stomach, with her shirt pulled up and her pants a little pulled down while the guy prepared everything.

"Ready?" She just nodded and then immediately wished she had gotten Red a new tie instead. It hurt. Bad. It felt like either thousands of little needles were piercing her skin or someone was systematically plucking out her body hair, one strand at a time. Eventually, the repetitive stinging dulled to a warm ache that was more annoying than painful.

"Since you want it all in color and it's rather big, I'd suggest we schedule a second appointment after two hours. Wouldn't want you to faint."

She bit her lip hard, so hard that she almost drew blood. "What about the small thing? Can we do that the next time around as well?" She asked, though she was _so_ not looking forward to getting a tattoo, no matter what size, on that part of her body.

"Sure. Won't take longer than ten minutes, anyway." He put some cream on the freshly tattooed skin and then put plastic wrap over it. "Tomorrow?"

"Yeah, that's fine. Thank you," she replied and left.

The hard part was getting Red to back off for another few days. They hadn't spend a single night apart in all that time and their love life was very much alive too.

The minute he made his way into the bedroom, his lips moved over hers, kissing passionately as his hands ran over her front, squeezing here and there.

"Mhm… honey, not tonight," she spoke against his mouth, pushing slightly at his chest.

"What's wrong?" He asked, concern written over his face.

She gently stroked over his cheek. "Nothing. I'm just tired."

He put his hand to her forehead. "You're not getting sick, are you?"

"I hope not."

Kissing her eyebrow, he pulled the blankets over them. "What happened to your lip?"

"Mhm?"

"Your lip," he said again. "It's a little swollen."

Scrambling her mind for something, anything to say, she bit her lip again and he had to smile before using his index finger to pull her lip free. She grinned at him. "It's Ressler's fault really. Don't tell him I said that."

"How so?"

"Well, I was lost in thought and he startled me, so I bit down on my lip. Hard."

He made a displeased noise at the back of his throat. "I might need to make sure he won't do that again." Red leaned forward and kissed her softly, tugging her closer.

"I think I pretty much scared him already," she said with a wink, before tugging her head under his chin. "G'night, Ray."

"Goodnight. Sweet dreams. I love you."

"Mhmmm… love you too."

The next session with Matt was just as bad, probably even worse, especially when he started to work on the skin over her spine. It hurt like hell. She wanted to scream at the artist and curse Red too, while she was at it. The things she would do for the man... He'd better like it. But if she thought that getting a tattoo on the small of her back hurt, the soft skin next to her protruding hipbone was even worse.

She had decided to get a second tattoo, a small one of course, just below her panty line, the spot Red so loved to kiss. It was his, just like the small of her back, like any part of her body really, but those two spots were the ones she would describe as his favorites.

Thankfully after 'only' three hours of work, he was done with both tattoos and Liz couldn't be happier. Not only was the pain finally gone (she had come close to crying more than once), but the tattoos were beautiful, especially the one on her back. If Red would be half as psyched about it as she was, the whole thing would be a huge accomplishment, and an excellent gift.

She gave Matt a generous tip for his skillful work, and he offered to check up on her tattoos the day after the next, to make sure everything was perfect for her presentation.

That night, she had to push him away yet again, and Red wasn't happy. He made a whining noise, his nose pushed into the soft crook of her neck. "But Lizzie… I want you."

She couldn't help but smile as her hand caught his that had been wandering dangerously close to the tattoo on her front. "Stop. It's been two days. I'm sure you've gone longer without."

He whined again, something she had never thought she would hear from the Concierge of Crime. "But not without you. I can't have you and then suddenly not have you anymore. Lizzie…"

"You'll live."

Groaning at her words, he pulled his head back and looked at her. Gently running his fingers over her mouth he said, "Your lip's even more bruised today, sweetheart."

"Really?" She asked, reaching up to touch it as well. "Must've bitten it harder than I thought." She knew exactly how that happened.

His gaze was soft and he leaned in to kiss her gently. "You know I don't mind if you're on your period."

She rolled her eyes at his one-track mind. "I know that, and I'm not on my period right now." He knew that too, but he didn't know why she didn't want to be touched lately. "I'm really just a little tired, Ray. I mean if you really need it that bad…" She trailed off as her fingers ran over the waistband of his boxer shorts.

He scoffed, slightly put off. "Sweetheart, if you don't feel like having sex with me, I will most definitely not push you into getting me off."

"Having sex, mhm?"

"Make love," he corrected himself immediately. "I miss you."

Liz smiled and kissed him soundly. "Soon, honey. I promise. I'm just so tired…"

"Lizzie… are you maybe… pregnant?"

"What? No. Jesus, Ray, I'm not pregnant." Sometimes his mind went crazy on him.

He put his head on her shoulder and one of his hands on her ribcage, right under her breast. "It's just that you're always tired, but you're not running a fever. I'm worried for you, sweetheart."

"And that's why I love you so much."

LizzingtonLizzingtonLizzington

When she got home the next night, he was nowhere to found. She had searched the whole house, but there was no sign of him. She got worried when her call went straight through to voicemail and after trying to reach him for another two hours, she gave up. She went to their closet to find something comfortable to sleep in when her heart dropped.

The closet, their closet, was only holding her clothes. Everything that he owned was gone, with no trace of where it might have gone. Why would he leave her without any kind of note, and why take all of his clothes with him?

When she didn't hear from him in the following week, she felt like she might puke from the sheer worry she felt. He had just vanished right before their anniversary. She got Aram to trace any cell that Red and Dembe might use and to her surprise he could give her an address.

It was worth a shot.

When she got to the mansion, she breathed a sigh of relief when she spotted his black Mercedes. She quickly made her way to the door and knocked. A few moments later it opened and her favorite bodyguard stood before her.

"Oh, thank god, Dembe," she exclaimed. "Are you alright? Is Red okay?"

The tall man looked at her. "Raymond is here, but he's currently busy."

"I really need to see him." She rounded him and walked further into the house.

"Agent Keen, don't. Agent Keen!" He tried to stop her, but she didn't listen.

When she came to the living room, her heart dropped, along with her jaw. There he was, her boyfriend, lover, significant other of the past year slouched on his couch, some exotic-looking woman perched on his lap. The woman was oblivious to Liz's entrance and continued playing with the buttons on his dress shirt.

"Agent Keen," Red greeted cooly. "Something you need?" She watched as the woman leaned in and whispered something in his ear, drawing a throaty laugh from him. "Oh, you're really naughty, sweetheart." He looked back up in time to see Liz's beautiful blue eyes well up with tears before she turned on her heel and hurried out of the house.

He sighed and dropped his head to the back of the couch. The girl, whatever her name was, straddled him and was about to attach her mouth to his neck, when Red pushed her away. He couldn't, not even if he wanted to, especially after he saw the look on his Lizzie's face. Why did she have to do that?

LizzingtonLizzingtonLizzington

She had called in sick, saying something about a stomach bug or whatever and that she wouldn't come in for at least a week. Red knew that that was very much not the case and he was fed up with her childish behavior. They had work to do, since he was still handing them criminals on a silver platter.

He was angry when he barged into the house, not caring one bit whether he should knock or not. He almost reconsidered when he saw her sitting on the floor, her eyes bloodshot, with dark circles underneath. She looked horrible and still so very beautiful.

"Just because you're sulking, doesn't mean you can skip work. There's still blacklisters to catch." Even though he felt like yelling, the devastated look on her face kept him from doing so.

"Then catch them. It's not like you need me for that, or for anything, really."

He huffed. "What happened? Did your boytoy leave you already?"

She frowned at him and her eyes blazed with anger. "You're the one screwing some plastic Barbie!" She spat.

"Well, I'm sure Tanja and I are having more fun than you and your lover."

"What the hell are you talking about?! What lover?" Her gaze was now also mixed with confusion.

He huffed a laugh. "There's no need to deny it, Agent Keen. I saw you two together."

"Are you high?!"

"You were even nice enough to write him in your calender."

"My calen- what the fuck are you doing snooping through my things?!"

He leaned against the doorway, a unamused smile on his face. "You could've just said if you wanted to fuck someone younger." She shook her head, absolutey confused at his words. "I saw you with him."

"With whom?! What the hell are you talking about?!"

He grabbed her purse from a sidboard and emptied the content on the floor. Bending down, he took the small calender and threw it to her. "Look at it. Thursday, Friday and even Sunday!" He spat, his chest heaving. He was furious.

She was confused enough to open the calender and flip through it until she found what he was talking about. Getting up she flung the little book at him. "You stupid bastard!"

"Excuse me?!"

"Matt is my damn tattoo artist!" Whatever he had wanted to say died in his throat, as he was stunned into silence. "I got a fucking tattoo for you! For our damn anniversary!" When he still failed to reply, Liz turned and ripped her t-shirt off her body.

Red walked closer and almost choked at what he saw. There, right on the small of her back was a tattoo of a fish swimming out of a cave. Not just any fish though. It was a tattoo of the Mexican tetra, the ugly, blind fish he had once told her about, and shining down on it was a ray of sunlight. Without even realizing it, he fell to his knees behind her, his hands reaching out to hold onto her waist. "Lizzie…"

"I wanted to surprise you," she cried, sadness overtaking the anger.

His forehead landed next to the colorful picture on her back. "Lizzie…" He sounded broken.

"How can you even think that I would cheat on you?" His grip on her waist only tightened. "That woman…"

"No," he replied immediately. "Nothing, ever. God, Lizzie."

She turned around and looked down at him, taking in his tear streaked face. "I got another one as well," she spoke softly and pushed down her pants a little, revealing a small heart. Inside were two R's back-to-back. A strangled sob tore from his throat and it almost brought Liz to her knees as well. "I wanted to mark your spots, for you." Her hands reached out to cup his cheeks, her thumbs stroking some of the tears away.

Leaning in, he placed a soft kiss to the small heart. "I'm so sorry, Lizzie," he whispered against the skin. "I'm so sorry."

"I would never cheat on you. There can never be anyone but you, Ray. You have to know that."

"You didn't want me to touch you… and then I saw you with that guy and… I'm so sorry, Lizzie."

Pulling his head against her stomach, she gently scratched over his scalp. "It was going to be a surprise and I'm sure you would've noticed plastic wrap on my skin."

He looked up at her, his chin against her body. "I'm a fool. I never wanted to hurt you. God, Lizzie, I'm so sorry. Our anniversay… I screwed it up. Please forgive me, sweetheart. I can't live without you."

She slowly got to her knees as well. "I love you, Raymond. You're everything to me."

Sighing in relief, he leaned in for a soft kiss. "You're my ray of sunlight."

"And you're my handsome fishie."

He laughed at that. "I think you got that confused a little, love."

"Nope. Definitely handsome. Downright sexy."

"I didn't know fish could be sexy."

She snuggled close to him and wound her arms around his waist. "That's how sexy you are."

His fingers gently ran over the slightly raised skin. "Did it hurt much?"

Liz nodded. "A lot… I bit my lip."

"I'm such an idiot."

"Shush now. I want to forget about that. I love you, Ray and I want to spend the rest of my life with you," she said, leaning in for a soft kiss.

"I love you, Lizzie and I will spend the rest of my life proving to you just how much."

Not even a week later, he had her name tattooed across his heart.


End file.
